The purpose of Att vara en i mängden… – En studie om religiös isolering på Facebook (Running with the pack… – A study on religious isolation on Facebook) is to gain an understanding of religious isolation between Christian, Jewish, Muslim and non-religious people. Further, the purpose is also to gain insight on how Christians, Jews and Muslims experience Facebook as a platform for expressing religious identity. The study was made using a concurrent mixed method, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, targeting Swedish Facebook users. The theoretical framework behind the study is The Spiral of Silence, by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann.The results indicate that religious isolation exists, and that it effects how prone users are to self-disclose about their religious identity. Also, the study shows that public opinion does not affect how prone users are to self-disclose. Rather, it is determined by the perceived opinion of the people in the user’s Facebook network. Due to the algorithm used by Facebook to filter users’ newsfeed, the recommendation to all Facebook users is to deliberately show interest to a diversity of religious content

In contemporary society, online Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook provide increasingly popular contexts within which late adolescent peer interactions and accompanying identity experiments can occur. Consequently, of increasing interest is exploring the impact of SNS use on psychological functioning in this age group. There is some evidence suggestive of a relationship between greater SNS use and increased depressive symptoms. However, findings are inconsistent, with a large body of literature also indicative of possible beneficial effects of SNS use on adolescent social and emotional adjustment. Therefore, as a means to address this divergence, the present study aims to investigate whether it is the quantity of use, including use of the site to connect with existing or new contacts, or the quality of Facebook interactions that might relate to depressive symptoms. Moreover, the present research attempts to identify for which late adolescents these associations are more likely to be a risk, drawing on constructs implicated in offline self-definition and identity development. One hundred and sixty-nine late adolescents (mean age 18.6 years) participated in this quantitative, cross-sectional study. Participants completed an online survey comprising self-report questionnaires validated by previous research assessing depressive symptoms, the intensity of Facebook use, strategy used to connect with peers on Facebook, self-reported quality of interactions on Facebook, and self-definition and identity variables; self-concept clarity (SCC), separation-individuation, and ego-identity commitment. Consistent with previous research, no relationship was found between the intensity of Facebook use, including number of Facebook friends, time spent on the site each day, perceived integration of the platform into daily life, and connection strategy and depressive symptoms. There was, however, evidence suggestive of a relationship between reports of feeling down following interactions on Facebook and increased depressive symptoms. Self-definition and identity variables were not found to moderate this relationship.

迷文化從1990年至今一直是文化研究的寵兒，新科技與跨國文化的加入豐富了迷文化的實踐樣貌，也帶出了新的研究方向。本研究探討喜愛K-POP的迷妹如何利用Facebook的打卡功能，展示自己的迷身分，透過研究深入了解打卡當下的脈絡與實踐心態，進一步探討迷的各式資本是如何在打卡動態上呈現。 本研究使用資料觀察分析法與深度訪談法。針對7位受訪者，利用打卡資料抓取程式濾出Facebook打卡訊息，事先審視其打卡資料，確保資料的完整度與真實性，再透過深度訪談，更加了解迷的打卡實踐心態與過程，期以兩種研究方法交互參照，擁有更豐富的研究資料。 研究發現，迷打卡出現的場合非常多元，除了迷活動相關的地點，生活打卡也可看出迷實踐的蹤跡。迷打卡種類繁多，展現的資本也非常複雜，除了一眼就能看出的資本呈現，更多時候是必須搭配打卡的情境與脈絡才能知悉。除此之外，這些不斷增生、轉換、積累的資本，透過迷在打卡的展演，進而成為迷獲取象徵資本的籌碼與管道。迷展現資本，同時也會暴露自己的階級，但在網路場域，除了讓資本呈現不同的特色風貌，階級的呈現能夠被隱匿，低度資本也有翻轉的可能。 / Studies of fan cultures have been discussed since 1990. However, influenced by new technology and cultural differences, fans have a variety of media use that leads to culture consumption. This study tries to find out the media use behavior through K-POP fans’ check in practice. In order to be informational and accurate, the study contains two methods. First, seven participants share their experiences of Facebook check-in behaviors, and then data crawling is used to get all check-in data. My findings indicate that fans use check-ins on Facebook to perform fans' behavior in fan-activities and in the daily life. The capitals displaying on check-ins are multifarious. Some of them are easy to see but some hidden capitals will be found by understanding the context behind check-ins. In addition, fans emerge, transform, accumulate and display different capitals on facebook check-ins and those displaying capitals are the factors to obtain symbolic capitals as well. Fans show capitals they have on Facebook, which will expose their social classes in the mean time. However, on the internet, fans can hide the clues of classes consciously, and show more capitals than they have.

Social media, even though a new phenomenon, has gained much interest in the last decade and has been a frequent topic of researchers. Sport marketing has also been a popular topic in academia, especially in North America. This thesis will address the use of social media in Nordic ice hockey clubs, including the exploration of their social media strategies and effectiveness. Previous research has not concentrated on ice hockey in Europe, nor has it examined their social media strategies. The study is seen to be necessary, especially given the large differences in the European and North American sport cultures and business models. The research was conducted through a qualitative multiple-case study by gathering data from both secondary sources as well as through semi-structured face-to-face interviews carried out with ten ice hockey clubs from both Sweden and Finland. The questions of the interviews were formed by the concepts derived from previous literature and the authors’ own experience. The results indicate that Nordic ice hockey clubs are still partly struggling with their social media strategies and that with the implementation of a clear strategy, including segmentation, the clubs would be able to take advantage of the relationship marketing and branding possibilities offered by social media. In line with this, the authors argue that the social media strategies of ice hockey clubs are not as effective as they could be and suggest further actions for managers to achieve higher social media effectiveness.

Att dela ett intresse för barnmode och barninredning i sociala medier är stort bland många föräldrar. På Instagram läggs det upp bilder på barn i trendiga barnklädesmärken och fina detaljer från olika barnrum. På Facebook diskuteras märket Mini Rodini och på Instagram sökes och delas barnrumsinspiration. Denna studie fokuserar på det här intresset – hur det tar sig uttryck i sociala medier och vad det säger om konsumtion, livsstil och identitet. Syftet med studien har varit att lyfta fram olika perspektiv på detta kulturella samhällsfenomen och att beskriva, analysera och fördjupa hur barnmode och barninredning diskuteras och visas upp i sociala medier av och bland föräldrar. Arbetet är en kulturstudie som tar sin utgångspunkt i teorier om identitet, konsumtion och meningsskapande processer i relation till barninredning och barnmode. Det består av två långa journalistiska reportage där de respektive ämnen jag studerar tas upp i var sitt, samt en reflektionsrapport. Där diskuterar jag och reflekterar kring produktionen av det journalistiska arbetet, dess undersökningsmetoder, etiska dilemman, källkritiska hållpunkter och bakgrund. Den journalistiska produktionsdelen av examensarbetet består av intervjuer med fem personer som med sina olika perspektiv har bidragit med en utökad förståelse för de fenomen jag skriver om. Dessa intervjuer är i reportagen sammanvävda med fakta och kunskap från researcharbetet. Reportagen visar att det finns många som diskuterar, har åsikter om och älskar att prata om barninredning och barnmode.

This qualitative study provided insight into the phenomenon of newcomers in social networking, in particular, to understand what role specific Facebook features play in motivating content sharing and contribution among newcomers. Research indicated that the first several months or years of social networking site (SNS) membership are the most crucial in terms of indicating long-term participation and commitment to the SNS. Long-term participation is specifically manifested through interactions with peers who are members of the same website and through interactivity such as content sharing and contribution. A number of quantitative studies have focused on motivations for user contribution in social networking sites, but inconsistent findings demonstrated the need for a qualitative approach to understand the user experience more clearly. The purpose of the study was to understand how users are motivated to engage in Facebook from their perspective as newcomers and to distill the significance of social media interface features as an enabler of community sharing. Insight into this phenomenon further demonstrates how specific actions on Facebook such as tagging, posting on profiles, and chatting help foster a sense of belonging and socialization among the sample group. The phenomenon is studied through interviews with a distinct group of Facebook members - women who are aged 40 and older in the Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) industry who are also newcomers to Facebook. The lived experiences of these respondents were explored through open-ended questions, related to their own use of the said social networking site. Semi-structured interviews allowed respondents to be candid and comprehensive in their answers. Five themes developed related to the motivations for Facebook use from the lived experiences of the women interviewed. The themes were (a) social connection, (b) visual artifact sharing, (c) shared identity, (d) social investigation and (e) education. These themes were consistent with findings of other studies, but the personal accounts of these women revealed how they perceived use of various Facebook features improved the quality and depth of their interpersonal relationships. The findings of this study have implications for designers, developers, and users of computer-mediated communications and technologies. By understanding the value of various features to users of all ages, communications inhibitors such as distance and culture can be overcome with effective design and innovation.

Language use and communicative behaviors are important indicators of sojourners' adjustment. The current research was conducted to understand international students' communication behavior on Facebook during their adjustment period in the US and its relationship to the students' acculturative attitude (identification with heritage and mainstream culture), current psychological adjustment level, socio-cultural adaptation level, and target audience on Facebook. Two main theories provided the theoretical framework of the study: Giles' communication accommodation theory (1973) and Berry's acculturation model (1984). Snowball and convenience samples were used to recruit 178 international students from different universities across the US. A mixed approach of online survey and content analysis was used to test the hypotheses and research questions. The results showed that during the stay in the US, international students accommodate their language and topic choice towards their American peers on Facebook. Particularly, it was found that language accommodation levels increase as the students' length of stay in the US increases. The results also demonstrate that international students use Facebook mainly to communicate with friends who reside in the US. When students had higher levels of mainstream identification, they were likely to target American friends as their audience on Facebook and thus have more language and topic accommodation. Additionally, acculturation attitude (heritage and mainstream identification) predicted the students' language accommodation level. Lastly, the study showed that there is a positive relationship between language accommodation and sociocultural adjustment. The findings of the study not only expand the scope of communication accommodation theory and acculturation model, but also enhance understanding of international students' online communication patterns, their purposes, and practical consequences upon their adjustment in the US. This is important because it can be useful in finding ways to improve the students' experience in the US.

軟體與網路服務，如社群網站（SNS）在計畫進入其他地區的市場時，「在地化」扮演著非常重要的角色，將軟體或網路服務上的字串翻譯的適切以及符合目標市場使用者，是在地化流程中十分重要的一環，因為關切著使用者是否能順利的接受這項產品。而在Web2.0的網路環境下，越來越多企業、組織思考要如何運用「互動、分享」的概念融入組織發展策略當中。 開始有企業或組織貫徹Web2.0之核心概念，將「協作」運用在「在地化流程」之中。 基於以上原因，本研究為「在Web2.0之下運用協作於在地化流程之探討」，選取個案為Mozilla Firefox—MozTW在地化專案及Facebook—中文（台灣）翻譯應用程式，從結合「協作」與「在地化」兩個概念的案例，瞭解下列三個問題： 在Web2.0下，協作概念的加入，促使在地化流程有何改變？ 在Web2.0下，應用協作概念於在地化流程中，有何互動產生？ 在Web2.0下，應用協作於在地化流程之中，產生的附加價值為何？ 研究發現顯示，在Web2.0的環境下，協作的運用使得在地化流程的四個階段產生變化，翻譯與測試階段不再只是企業、組織的內部作業，而是一般使用者都可以參與的過程。 應用「協作」概念於「在地化流程」使得參與者、社群、組織及協作工具有許多的交織互動，組織聆聽社群及參與者的聲音，參與者給予組織回饋，促使協作工具得以不斷的改良。並且，翻譯的成果，可以更貼近目標市場的使用者。 另外，由於參與者融入原本企業、組織內部的在地化活動，使得擴散得以提早發生。且協作工具應用在翻譯上，使得使用者加入開發的門檻降低，進而使參與者背景更多元，這樣的情況，也有助於擴散的發生。 從個案中也可以瞭解，參與者多為對該軟體或網路服務忠誠度高的使用者，他們希望可以藉著參與翻譯加速中文化版本的出現，使更多人可以在沒有語言隔閡之下使用該軟體或網路服務。

Magistro darbo objektas – politinė komunikacija, vykdoma panaudojant asmenines politikų svetaines ir socialinių tinklų profilius. Darbo tikslas - remiantis mokslinės literatūros analize bei atlikus kiekybinį ir kokybinį politikų tinklalapių ir socialinio tinklo Facebook profilių/ puslapių tyrimą, ištirti, kaip Lietuvos politikai panaudoja tinklalapius ir socialinius tinklus politinei komunikacijai. Darbo uždaviniai: pateikti politinės komunikacijos sampratą ir pagrindinius jos modelius bei išanalizuoti politinės komunikacijos vystimąsi ir kaitą, atkreipiant dėmesį į technologijų įtaką šiems procesams; išanalizuoti informacinių technologijų ypatumus, darančius įtaką politinei komunikacijai, bei pateikti internetinių svetainių ir socialinių tinklų panaudojimo politikos komunikacijai analizę; atlikti kiekybinę ir kokybinę Lietuvos politikų - Seimo narių - tinklalapių ir socialinių profilių analizę; atlikus Seimo narių, naudojančių socialinį tinklą Facebook, apklausą, išsiaiškinti politikų požiūrį į komunikaciją su rinkėjais šiame tinkle bei galimus socialinio tinklo naudojimo motyvus, lemiančius komunikacijos socialiniuose tinkluose ypatumus; remiantis atliktu tyrimu, įvertinti tinklalapių ir socialinių tinklų panaudojimą politinei komunikacijai Lietuvoje patvirtinant arba paneigiant darbe iškeltas hipotezes. Išanalizavus mokslinę literatūrą, skirtą politinei komunikacijai, prieita prie išvados, kad politinė komunikacija visada buvo stipriai veikiama technologinių pokyčių. Todėl... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / As the importance of information technologies is growing in all fields of social life, political communication is rapidly moving to the cyberspace. The subject of the Master‘s Degree Thesis is political communication in personal politician‘s websites and social networking sites. The aim of the paper is to examine the use of information technologies, namely political websites and social networks, for the political communication in Lithuania by testing two hypothesis: 1) Lithuanian politicians do not exploit the full potential of internet multimedia, interactivity and information update possibilities; 2) Social networks in Lithuania are used for personal and casual rather than political ends seeking communication. The main tasks of the Thesis are as following: to define the concept of political communication and it’s models; to analyze the impact of information technologies on political communication and the way it is conducted; to perform quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the Seimas member’s websites and social profiles; to conduct the survey of Lithuanian parliament members about their communication on Facebook; to analyse the results and evaluate the use of political websites and Facebook for political communication in Lithuania. The analyses revealed that the majority of political websites do not move away from “electronic brochure” model, as the interactivity and information update possibilities are often neglected. The first hypothesis of the Thesis was... [to full text]

Studien undersöker hur sociala medier påverkar våra respondenter och hur stort behov de har av det i dagens samhälle. Till en början av undersökningen har vi endast behandlat ett intresseområde som är sociala medier. I och med att vår målsättning har varit att gå in så förutsättningslöst som möjligt samt komma nära vår undersökningsgrupp har vi använt oss utav grundad teori som metodologiskt angreppssätt. I motsvarighet till grundade teorins grundidéer har vi låtit vår frågeställning växa fram ur datamaterialet. Därför har frågeställningen kommit att ändras i takt med studiens utveckling där frågeställningen har grundats utifrån materialet vi har haft. För att besvara intresseområdet som vi till en början hade, har vi använt oss utav fyra enskilda intervjuer där respondenterna på ett eller annat sätt kommit i kontakt med sociala medier. Vidare har vi använt oss utav fokusgrupper i de senare faserna där de bestod utav fyra personer vardera och som på ett eller annat sätt kommer i kontakt med sociala medier i vardagen. I slutet på denna studie använder vi oss utav både teoretisk referensram och tidigare forskning som står i relation till vårt undersökningsområde. Becker, Nilsson & Waldemarsson och Goffman står i grund för vår teoretiska referensram där kommunikation, normer och utanförskap är de centrala områdena. Det viktigaste resultatet som studien visade på var att ett utanförskap började uppenbara sig bland ungdomar när de inte använde sig utav sociala medier. Detta visar även den tidigare forskningen på, men mer indirekt. Våra respondenter uttrycker i tal att det är ett utanförskap det handlar om.